Skyscraper!

Achievement and impact

Explore the planning, design, engineering, and technology of these amazing structures

Skyscrapers are among the ultimate achievements in engineering. Learn about skyscrapers' effects on culture, the environment, and even local weather patterns.

Put on a safety harness and walk on a narrow steel beam above the gallery floor of Skyscraper! Still feeling bold? Face the hurricane-force winds of the Curtain Wall Test, which is how engineers test buildings for resilience.

Young visitors can put on a hard hat and safety vest, then discover how an elevator works, create their own skyscraper design, build a neighborhood with colorful blocks, load wood chips with a real mini-excavator, and stack blocks using an electromagnetic mini-crane.

Visitor info

Location: 1st Floor

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Highlights

Step out on a narrow steel beam and walk the steel 18 feet above the gallery floor.

See how buildings are tested for weather resistance as you sit in hurricane-force 100 mph winds and rain.

Design your own skyscraper!

We thank our generous partners for sponsoring Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact: National Science Foundation (NSF); The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers; IMPACT; District Council of New York City; District Council of Northern New Jersey; District Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity; New Jersey Carpenter Contractor Trust; Construction Industry Advancement Program of NJ; Komatsu